At-risk youth to train shelter dogs in N. Ind.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - (AP) — Of the dozen or so volunteers gathered in a small room in the Juvenile Justice Center's education wing, many had experience with throwaways.

A former pet groomer who rescues past-their-prime greyhounds. An animal control officer who, with his wife, has fostered hundreds of unwanted canines.

"You're talking throwaway dogs and throwaway kids, and they're there for each other," said South Bend police Detective Jen Gobel, a co-founder of Project HEAL, which will pair juvenile offenders with foster or shelter dogs for four-week training courses.

Project HEAL — which stands for heart, education, achievement and leadership — will allow at-risk youths to learn discipline, empathy and other qualities by teaching the shelter dogs basic obedience, making the animals more adoptable and possibly finding them homes in the process, Gobel told the South Bend Tribune (http://bit.ly/17Mc2x3).

The idea for the program, based on "Lifetime Bonds," a similar effort by the nonprofit Safe Humane Chicago, originated about four months ago, Gobel said.

The first 12-session pilot course will launch Sept. 16 with a group of 10 youths selected by juvenile probation staff. So far, Gobel said, between 50 and 60 people have signed on as possible volunteers, with 10 volunteers expected to work each session.

Mike Kanouse, who is studying criminal psychology through the University of Phoenix, said he volunteered because he liked the idea of helping at-risk youths improve their behavior by pairing them with animals.

"This is kind of outside the norm, using dogs, and that's something I found incredibly interesting, using dogs to create a positive environment," Kanouse said.

Volunteers at a recent orientation meeting also included justice center staff, probation officers and, of course, lots of dog lovers.

Ellen Braydon, whose family fosters dozens of dogs each year, said Gobel approached her early in the program's development.

"Of course they knew I had to be involved because I'm the dog freak," Braydon joked.

Program leaders hope the dogs will help provide at-risk youths with the kind of safe, loving environment that many juvenile offenders may not have experienced at home.

"With a dog, you just kind of get that unconditional loyalty," Gobel said. "Everybody wants to be needed and loved, and these kids will have the sense that these animals are depending on them."

One of the dogs, a 5-year-old Great Dane named Bessie, has been living with Braydon and her husband, Brad, a South Bend Animal Care and Control officer, since they rescued her about three weeks ago after she was cast aside by a puppy mill.

At first, Bessie was covered in pressure sores from living in a cramped cage and could barely stand because her leg muscles were so weak, Ellen Braydon said. Project HEAL leaders hope Bessie becomes one of the first dogs to find a home through the program, although she will need to recover for about three months before adoption.

"She's 100 percent better, but she still had a long way to go," Braydon said.

Those involved with the program also said it could help incentivize good behavior by youths incarcerated in the justice center. That's because the youths who are chosen for the program will not want to jeopardize their chance to interact with the dogs several times per week, said Sean Coleman, assistant director of the Juvenile Justice Center.

For the first four sessions of the pilot course, the youths will work with "ambassador" dogs, meaning pets or foster dogs that already live with volunteers and have had some training, Gobel said. Untrained shelter dogs — possibly recommended by city Animal Care and Control — could join the program in the fifth session, she said.

As Project HEAL moves toward its official launch, members are still ironing out a few details. For example, the group is filing for its tax-exempt nonprofit status and trying to figure out exactly where the program dogs will be housed.